BLKE: An Odd Quartet
by SPARTAN-G117
Summary: Blake, a nickname for one of dark hair or pale skin. BLKE, a team of huntsmen in training starting their first year at the prestigious Beacon Academy prepare for its arrival and discover the mysteries of their pasts.
1. The Man, The Faunus, The Bull

I stood in an airship staring out of its large semicircular and ornate windows, gazing at the city of Vale below. Through the maze of tall buildings I could see the island of Patch and the combat school I attended to get here, Signal, situated on it's land mass.

I'd spend most of my life on that small island always wanting to be where I am now. To learn to fight, to stop what happened to me from happening to anyone else in Remnant. How everyone in that village was killed by the Grimm, except me. From what my adoptive father told me, my Uncle Finn, he saw a bright flickering light coming from a building howls of beowolves coming from inside. It was me, a baby boy too young to defend himself saved and adopted by a man with four ears.

"Hey," a yelp came from the other end of the spacious aircraft, "cut it out!"

I turned towards the sound and saw a young Faunus, her grey wolf like tail being yanked by a much larger human and his sneering friends. I noticed that she had seen me storming towards them her eyes locking into mine pleading for help.

"I told you guy's it was real," the bully laughed as I arrived still tugging on her tail, "Who the hell are you?"

"That doesn't matter," I replied coldly, "What matters is _what_ are _you_ doing?"

"I'm putting this Faunus mutt in her place," he scowled back, "You got a problem?"

"Yes, I do," I glanced down at the victim's bright blue eyes before meeting the bully's gaze again, "and I'd suggest that you back off."

I had confidence in my voice but that meant almost nothing when it came from a tall but skinny seventeen year old. Our muscular difference was substantial. Not to mention his three buddies each with a similar build.

"And what are you going do do about it?" One of them sneered.

I sighed before planting my fist in his face with a satisfying crunch, "Leave her alone," I demanded.

He and his three other heavily armoured friends let go of the Faunus and turned their attention to me looks of anger strewn across their faces and their hands in fists. Four to one were hardly fair odds but Uncle Finn always said that I was the guy who'd jump into a horde of Grimm for someone I didn't know.

I dropped back into a fighting stance and two white gauntlets formed from two thin white bands at the base of my black fingerless gloves. A small flamethrower like device protruded from each of the gauntlets and empty dust vials rotated around my forearms. I called them Diversity.

The fight barely lasted a minute. Four to one isn't exactly fair odds and each one probably weighted more than double of my slim body. It didn't help that I couldn't' t use the gauntlet's dust capabilities as I had ran out and that we were in an airborne airship.

But it was too late for that. The bully's supporters picked me up exhausted and spend on the floor and forced me to kneel in front of him, my aura completely depleted.

"You know, there are just some things you should just stay out of," he said before kicking me with his armoured boot before leaving.

"Are you ok?" the Faunus returned, "I'm so sorry. You didn't have to do that."

"I'm ok," I replied as I struggled to stand up, "just winded."

"You know I would've been fine, I can put up with Schwartz and his goons," she continued before sighing, "I have since the first day at combat school."

"It didn't look like it," I snapped, "You shouldn't let people do things like that to you. Its unjust and its wrong."

She sighed again before saying, "Name's Ellie, and I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

"Blanc," I replied noticing her change of subject, "and don't be sorry."

Well at least I know someone now.


	2. The Shining Beacon

We had arrived at Beacon a few minutes later. There were hundreds of other students already crowding the large cobbled pathway leading from the landing pads to the academy proper with at least a dozen more of the four winged airships on the way.

"Well you don't see that every day," I remarked to nobody in particular as I started walking through the courtyard towards a large statue.

The stone statue was two hunters standing triumphantly atop of a rock crushing a beowolf underneath them. The path that led to the school split around the statue and reconvened on the other side as if it was a sacred monument that had been there for thousands of years.

"You do know that we're supposed to be at the amphitheatre now right?" I recognised Ellie's voice behind me.

"Why's that?" I replied not taking my eyes off the statue.

"Ozpin's welcoming all the first years, now."

I barely heard the last words leave her mouth as I had already started running for Beacon's amphitheatre. I burst through the doors to a massive circular room with a stage at the far end. I missed the majority of the Headmaster's announcement but I managed to catch something about a ballroom and the Beacon Cliff.

"Well this isn't what I expected for sleeping arrangements," Night had fallen and once again all the first years were all gathered in a large building but this time it was in the school's ballroom, its large ornate chandeliers overlooking us.

Most of the others had fallen asleep by the time I found a pillar to sit and lean against, legs folded in front of me. I pulled a small grey notebook with my emblem of two identical hands, one black the other white, shaking. notebook out of the pocket of the white cotton shorts I wear to bed and slipped the white pen from out of the binder before flipping through the pages, early concepts for Diversity, photo's of Uncle Finn and I, even a well done sketch of a girl I used to like back at Signal before she left.

I eventually reached a blank page a few pages from the end and wrote down what happened during the day, Ellie, Schwartz, everything I remembered doing or happening around me. I'd been doing it since I got home from Signal and found a large sum of Lien, keys to a motorbike and a note about five years ago from Uncle Finn saying that he wouldn't be home for a while.

I haven't seen him since.

After I finished writing a blonde girl wearing an orange tank top walked across the room dragging a red head behind her, both looked familiar but I couldn't remember who. As soon as the blonde excitedly said "Hello," out loud I knew exactly who they were. Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose both of whom I'd heard of from my time at Signal and I decided that it was best to stay away. So I scribbled one final note at the bottom of the page I had open:

 _Note to self: STAY AWAY FROM THE CRAZY BLONDE!_


	3. Initiation

One way to describe the academy's locker room is unique. Not only was it nearly as spacious as the ballroom that we slept in the night before, it was filled with rockets. The lockers weren't like anything I'd seen before, they were big enough that I could fit inside of it, I'm 6'3", without discomfort and they could be sent to anywhere nearby using rockets attached to the underside.

I had just slipped my hands into the gloves when a new voice spoke to me, "Hey, weren't you the guy who got beat up on the ship yesterday?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that," I replied turning around to see a girl, wearing an exoskeleton over reddish-brown fatigues, her dark red fringe swept over her left eye.

"So," she pointed at my gloves, "do you do anything other than punch people with them?"

"Well it can use dust similar to a flamethrower, but I'm out."

"What kind?"

"Whatever I can get my hands on, ice, lightning, I really like fire. As long as it isn't from Schnee."

"Here," she pulled a couple of small boxes out of pouches on her belt, "I can spare these, and no it isn't Schnee, they're," she paused, "I don't remember, but definitely not Schnee."

"Thanks," I replied taking the vials, emptying them into Diversity's chambers, "Name's Blanc."

"Kapila, but people just call me Kap," she turned around and started walking down the room, "Anyway, gotta get

Le Fusil Terribles ready to go."

Within the hour the first years were positioned on stone, squares at the top of the Beacon Cliff, overlooking a large chasm.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin stood at the far end of the line finally telling us what the initiation was, "and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates…" Professor Goodwitch, the only other adult there,"today."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continued," So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years. After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Well that was reassuring," Ellie stated, standing on the square to my right, slipping on a pair of sky blue aviators.

"You'll be fine pup," Kapila poised to my left, the person behind her was sent flying as I braced for the launch.

I heard a loud thud and a cry of joy as Kap was launched off the cliff, "Here we go," I muttered to my self right before I was sent after her.


	4. The Emerald Forest

I felt the wind rushing through my hair as the tree line approached rapidly. Looking off to my left I could see that Kapila had slowed her self, using small boosts from her exo, and controlled her fall landing somewhere below me. I however readied Diversity to use the ice dust Kap gave me. As the ground came within a few metres of me I used the dust to form a frozen, 'U' shaped ramp as I slid down it to stop myself.

"Well can't say I've seen that before," I turned towards the voice behind me, "Good thing I gave you that dust."

"Yeah," I replied, my eyes locking with Kapila, "Guess we're a team now?"

"Seems like it," she replied, "So, are we going to just stand here staring at each other, or are we, you know."

"Right, lets go."

Kapila and I had been walking for what felt like ages not encountering anyone or anything. It was odd especially as the forest was supposedly filled with Grimm.

"I had it!" I heard someone call a short distance away, "You kill stealer!"

"Hey!" I heard a familiar voice reply, "It's not my fault that you decided to turn your back on an Ursa."

"Wonder who they are," Kap stated before heading towards the voices.

"They've got to be someone."

"You're mean and bossy and I hate you!" the yelling continued as we emerged into a small clearing two huntresses arguing with each other.

I saw Ellie, now dressed in a blue tank top underneath a similarly coloured hoodie with yellow trimming, details and a large paw print on her back. Her bulky cargo pants also shared a similar colour scheme. She held a rifle about the size of her forearm, well it looked more like an oversized pistol with a flush ends to it.

The other huntress was a full head shorter and wore an ornate red and black dress accompanied with black, heeled boots that met her knees. Her red hair tied up in a large bun, covering a large portion of a red crown with a ruby placed in it. She had a large, angular pair of scissors with the edges sharpened and dust clearly visible inside the blades mounted across her lower back.

"Says the Faunus mutt who hangs back," The red head continued the argument, "leaving their teammate to do all the dirty work! Do you think that you have a wolf tail makes you better than anyone else?"

"No," Ellie replied angrily, "It's not wolf, it's German Shepard."

I nearly pounced at the girl for calling Ellie a mutt but I was caught by the sheer force of Kapila's exo grabbing the neck of the white, tattered coat that used to belong to Uncle Finn.

"Whoa, Blanc," She said as if I was a horse, "Don't you remember what happened the last time you done that? We're not here to kill each other."

With that she yelled out to the two huntresses in training, "Oi, pup, Lali! What on this world do you think you're doing?"

"She started it!" Ellie claimed pointing at the girl Kap called Lali.

"Says the mutt who committed the act," she replied.

Once again Kapila kept hold of my coat, "Let me go Kap, I got your point."

I demonstrated this by transforming Diversity into it's inactive state and she let me go.

"Why fight when our objective is in the next clearing?" It seemed like Kap was desperate to stop the argument, "And even when we do get out of here you two are gonna be with each other for the next four years with another pair."

Both girls looked annoyed that Kap didn't take either side but they saw her point and the four of us resumed our journey north.

"Chess pieces?" I asked myself as we arrived at a circular ruin with twenty pedestals all empty except two white queens.

"Guess these are the relics," Lali, "How, unimpressive."

"What were you expecting?" Ellie replied sarcastically, "Gold and Diamonds."

"Guess it doesn't matter," I replied picking one of them up and Lali doing the same a short distance away, "not a hard choice."

Without anymore chatter we started heading back towards the cliff at a brisk jog.


	5. The Creatures of Grimm

We were running through a field of grass as tall as my waist and I could see the cliff a short distance ahead.

"Nearly there!" I called pointing at it's summit.

As if summoned by my voice a pack of Beowolves burst out of the tree on all our flanks.

"Beos!" Kap called, pointing out the wolf like creatures.

"What are we gonna do?" Ellie asked, drawing her weapon.

"I don't know," Kapila replied, it seemed that she was losing confidence with herself, "We could fight them."

I stopped and turned around to face the Grimm ,"Blanc! What are you doing?" Kap once again yelled grasping for my coat.

"They're not gonna leave us alone are they?" I replied not taking my focus of the beoewolves.

"He's not wrong," Ellie agreed her short stumpy rifle extending to as tall as she was over her shoulder and she swapped her aviators for a more technical looking eye piece.

"Yeah," Lali was also on side her scissors now two symmetrical short swords.

I heard a high pitched whining followed by a loud _crack_ as Ellie's weapon fired its first round at the pack leaving a huge red hole in the chest of the leading Beowolf with an indistinguishable amount of time passing between the it and the rifle's muzzle.

Two more fell in a similar way when Kapila and Lali charged forward meeting the Grimm head on. Lali decapitated one while Kap tackled another to the ground filling it with Le Fusil Terribles before turning to the next. I looked around and saw an Alpha and three of it's subordinates charging towards me.

Another _crack_ sounded and the trailing wolf collapsed clutching its chest before evaporating into a black mist. I held my ground until the three remaining creatures were almost on top of me when I used wind dust in one of the gauntlets to throw away one of the minors and steam in the other to distract the others. I noticed that Kapila had tackled the first Beowolf as it was flying through the air only leaving the alpha and its accomplice.

 _Always go for the weak first_ , I remembered a day were Uncle Finn taught me how to fight when outnumbered, _An Ursa Major doesn't look so tough when he's alone._

I saw more Beowolves of both sizes run from the forest, "Go for the minors first!"

With that, I jumped on the back of the smaller Grimm of the pair I was fighting and pummelled it with Diversity, each gauntlet releasing a small plume of gravity dust to hit the beast with more force than I could normally muster. After it fell to the ground switched both gauntlets using small pads on the insides of my palms to ice and froze the beasts heads before smashing it with all I had embedding a foot long shard of ice into the back of its head.

The Alpha recovered and threw a flurry of strikes at me, I tried to dive away from them but a couple tore across my back and despite my aura protected me from any physical harm, I could still feel the pain race through my torso. The Alpha seemed to smile as I picked myself up out of the grass.

 _The grass,_ I thought.

Grass is highly flammable material, and we were fighting in the middle of an entire field of it.

"Any of you got anything that's hot?" I called out before dodging another swing from the Alpha.

"What are you talking about Blanc?" I heard Kap yell back, firing another hail of bullets at the Grimm.

"Fire, we start a fire!" I blurted, "We're not here to fight the Grimm! We've already completed our objective."

"To the cliff," Ellie must have understood what I was trying to say.

"I gave you dust for a reason Blanc," Kap said as she ran past me after Faunus. I followed suit arms out behind me using Diversity like two miniature flamethrowers, creating a huge grass fire between us and the Grimm.

"Well that could've been easier," Ellie said standing next to Lali at a clearing at the base of the cliff, "Just gotta find a way up now."


	6. BLKE

"Blanc Rouge, Elizabeth Day, Kapila Monty and Lali MacCready," All the first years were gathered in Beacons amphitheatre for the second day running, but for a different reason as Ozpin was announcing the teams we would be stuck with for the next four years, "The four of you retrieved the white queen pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team BLKE. Led by... Blanc Rouge."

"That's kind of Ironic," I stated walking off the stage and back into the crowd.

"What," Kapila replied, "That the only guy on the team is the leader. Or me, Kap, isn't the _cap_."

"No, its that all our colours are relatively light in colour, there's white, red, a reddish-brown and yellow, and our team name literally means the opposite."

"Blanc, since when has this mattered to anything?" Ellie joined the conversation clearly trying to end it.

"Since JADE was formed," I shot back, "How many people have the same name as their team? I certainly don't."

"Blanc, just shut up."

"Hex Ember, Schwartz Golde, Woodrow Wilson and Zlata Blaue," Ozpin announced the eighth team of first years who turned out to be the four bullies from the airship, "The four of you retrieved the black king pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team SCWZ. Led by... Schwartz Golde!"

"Glad we didn't meet them out there," Ellie stated looking up at the armour clad huntsmen, "It probably would've been more ugly than a Faunus with a trunk."

"See what I mean!" I made my point.

"And finally. Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long," I noticed the Blonde from Signal and her sister walk onto the stage with a Schnee and someone who I've never seen before., "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

"Well this is gonna be interesting," Kapila resolved.

* * *

Shortly after each team was assigned to a dorm with ours across the hall from SHWZ's.

"Ah, Look who it is," Schwartz stated, pretending to sound surprised as he shoved past us, "It's the white wimp and his pet."

"You really wanna try it Schwartz," I replied furiously nearly lashing out at him, "Cause we've already spent the day fighting Grimm. And there are four of us now."

"Blanc, no," Ellie looked at me pleadingly, "You've done enough already. Besides we're tired and as you just said we've been fighting all day. Is this really the time?"

With those words I calmed down and used my scroll to unlock the door to our dorm. I felt my face drop as I saw what was inside.

Four beds were positioned perpendicular to the back wall with a single, arched window in the centre. Bookshelves separating each bed and lining the walls except for four desks which were placed on the opposite wall, parallel with the beds.

We each chose a bed and ditched our gear before Lali spoke, "Anyone else hungry?"

"Yeah," Kapila replied, reaching behind her back and detaching the upper half of her exo and dropping it on her bed, "I could eat something."

"I'm not going to stop you," I stated as I sat on my bed, arms behind my head, "I've had enough walking for one day."

"I'll stay too," Ellie stated.

With that the two girls walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Why did you help me?" The Faunus asked, "With Schwartz."

"I can't stand bullying or mistreatment of Faunus just because they have a pair of horns or a tail," I replied sitting up, "They're still people. They have a soul."

"But you fought him, on your own. I don't know of anyone who would do that."

"Do you remember your parents?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I never knew mine," I was now sitting on my bed looking at Ellie, "From what I know I used to live in a village outside of Vale, then the Grimm attacked and killed everybody except me. I was found alone in my crib by a huntsman. A Faunus. He took me in and raised me as his own but now he's gone."

"Gone?"

"He disappeared a few years ago, not too long after the White Fang turned violent. All that's left is one of his coats, the keys to his bike and a decent sum of money."

"Blanc, I'm sorry to hear that," she took it all in as she looked down at her feet.

"You don't have to say that," I replied, "But thanks anyway."

* * *

Later that evening when the others had fallen asleep I returned to the grey notebook and done the same as I had done the previous night: skim through the older pages, write down what happened during the day. I turned to the first page of the book and stared at a photo of Uncle Finn helping me build Diversity, his mane clearly visible down the back of his neck. I remember that day like it was yesterday.


	7. Day Three

I woke up to see that the girls had completely revamped the room. There was a poster of the Achieve Men above Ellie's bed and Kapila had done something similar but with a pull-out-poster of a massive scythe from a weapons magazine. And Lali, well she had covered the section above her bed with anything red, especially if it had something to do with hair product.

The girls were all dressed in the Academy's uniform of a red plaid skirt, and a brown jacket with a tan vest and white shirt with a red ribbon tied at the collar, but they all kept a feature of their usual attire. Ellie wore her hoodie over the top, Lali kept her red crown while Kap kept the lower half of her Exo for some reason. I can see its use as a weapon and to help with mobility but in classes?

"Morning Cap," Kapila said jubilantly.

"Cap?" I asked confused.

"Your our leader aren't you," She explained.

"Yeah but I'm no captain. Or anything for that matter."

"Ok fine, Blanc," she stormed off and plucked another weapons magazine out of a stack that stood nearly as tall as the bed she sat on.

"Now you've seen the true side of Kapila Monty," Lali shifted her focus to me, "What do you think? Wait let me guess-annoying, over the top, different."

"We're all different," I replied, "Ellie's a Faunus, I'm a guy, you're a bit obsessive and Kap's what ever that is. I like it."

"Uh, when did our classes start again?" Ellie asked staring at a blue and yellow clock above the door.

"Nine," Kap replied still fixated on her magazine.

"Well it's eight fifty now."

After she said that I ran into the small bathroom, scooping up my uniform as I went. Looks like I was gonna be late again.

To say that Professor Peter Port was boring was an understatement. I already knew about the Grimm and I'm sure everyone else in the room did. Ellie even fell asleep, her head resting in her arms under her hood.

The only thing that was remotely interesting was that the Schnee heiress killed a Boarbatusk in front of the class after rejecting _useful_ information from her team mates. Just because you think your better that everyone else doesn't mean they can't help and Schnees can't seem to get that in their royal heads. One of the reasons why I don't like using dust that was mined in a Schnee quarry.

"Well that was interesting," Lali commented as we walked out of the room and headed towards the dining hall.

"All I heard was 'blah blah blah'," Kapila mocked the teacher.

"Well, can't say its nothing I've heard before," I joined the conversation.

"What do you two mean?" Lali seemed angry, "'blah blah blah' and 'nothing I've heard before'? He told us how he trapped a Beowolf."

"More like his life story," Kap leaned towards me as if she was trying to keep it quiet.

"Hey, I'd listen to your life story if it was decent."

"Ok, I think that's enough," I finally announced seeing the anger in the redhead's eyes, "we're here to learn to fight monsters not each other."

"I'll fight Grimm when they show up," Lali said eagerly, "And others when the tournament comes around."

"Exactly," I looked at her, "but as a team."


	8. Destined to Repeat

It has been a week since the initiation and the formation of the team. Most of the week had been classes with a couple of sparring sessions overseen by Goodwitch in between them. Now we were in our history lesson taught by Barthomellow Oobleck.

"Is it just me or do we seem to always be in the same classes as RWBY?" I asked quietly to Kapila.

The teacher zipped across the room in front of my desk near the back of the room.

"Would you care to share with me what you shared with miss Monty here?" He asked staring at me.

"She lost track of what you were saying Professor."

"In that case she can ask me to slow down," he glanced at her before glaring back at me, "and its Doctor, I didn't get a PhD for nothing."

"But doesn't Doctor and Professor both require a PhD?" I asked.

"You're not wrong, but still I'd rather be called Doctor," he realised before speeding back to the front, continuing his lecture.

"And all this was was to confine the Faunus to the island of Menagerie giving humans the control of the rest of Remnant."

An hour later the lecture was over and we all left except for Cardin Winchester, who reminded me of Schwartz, and I'm pretty sure his name is Jaune. Poor guy, reminds me of me.

"Mr Rouge," the Doctor called as I was about to leave the room, "If you would kindly wait out side I would like a word."

"Ok," I replied before turning to my team, "I'll see you guys back at the dorm."

I noticed that another girl was standing a few meters away from me, her red hair swaying with every tilt of her head. Her stature was almost mythical to most of us, the untouchable girl, Pyrrha Nikos.

She disappeared as soon as Jaune left the room and Oobleck walked out of the room.

"Mr Rouge," he said.

"Yes."

"Why are you here?"

"What?" I replied confused.

"Why do you want to be a huntsman?"

"Well to fig-"

"No that is what you do, not why you do it," he cut me off abruptly, "I know you've lost your parents, and your surrogate father. But you decided to live alone, at the age of twelve."

"Well," I paused, "I guess I didn't want to give up. I started at Signal not too long before Uncle Finn left and I wanted to finish what I started and I guess I don't see why the Faunus are so poorly treated. I want to help them."

"And how will you do it?"

"Um well," again I paused thinking, "I fight for those who need it."

"I see," He replied a slight look of disappointment creeping onto his face, "You know your history, yes?"

"Yeah. Pretty well."

"Good for those who don't learn their history are destined to repeat it."


	9. Forever Fall

**Hello guys**

 **I'm back from hollies and back writing although not as often as I used to. With events happening in my life currently I sadly won't be able to finish a chapter for my fics (specifically this one) every week anymore instead I'll do my best to get a chapter posted every second week.**

 **Shout out to MechaRavenWolf ( u/7816305/MechaRavenWolf)for another RWBY fic but with a bit less canon accuracy but more dragon Faunuses**

* * *

"Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so," Professor Goodwitch said as she led us through the beautiful red forest.

We stopped not too far behind her and she turned around and continued to talk, "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

"C'mon," I said to my team before walking deeper into the forest, Diversity covering my forearms ready for anything.

After a couple of minutes of walking we found a small clearing in the red trees and I walked up to a tree and pulled a glass jar out of a pouch over my shoulder that normally held vials of dust for my gauntlets and filled it with the sap. I looked around when I had finished and saw the others were doing the same. Both Kapila and Lali filled their jars and capped them but Ellie decided to sniff at the contents before doing the same.

"So," Kapila broke the nearly perfect silence, "Are we going to head back?"

"It's only two," Lali replied.

"I don't really mind," Ellie said before sitting down laying her compacted rifle in her lap, "Blanc?"

"We might as well wait here," I came to a conclusion before sitting against the tree I had taken the sap of, "Not like we're in a hurry."

About an hour later Ellie stood up and gripped her weapon tightly, "Guys somethings wrong."

"What is it pup?" Kapila asked the worried looking Faunus.

"I don't know," she replied her eyes darting around seemingly looking for something, "Something's out there."

As she finished speaking the obvious head of a King Taijitu rose from the red overgrowth behind Ellie hissing violently.

"Ellie move!" I shouted as Kapila rocketed into the Faunus using her exo the Faunus out of the way.

Something was odd about the snake like Grimm. It was much larger and had spines on the back of its head and around its neck, something I would expect on a Beowolf Alpha or Ursa Major.

"Lali," I called while running towards the threat to my teammate who was currently slashing at the creatures head, "You know a lot about Grimm, what is this?!"

"Queen," was all I heard of her reply before a second head rose beneath me through the knee high grass lifting me into the air nearly as high as the forest canopy.

I heard a loud and repeating _thud_ as Ellie strafed around the beast firing her rifle in its compact form similar to a very slow firing LMG and Kapila shoulder charged into the side of it bouncing off it. I jumped off the Grimm's white head as it positioned itself above me ready to strike. I rolled out of the way as it dived into the ground before jumping and pounding the side of its head with Diversity. Kapila saw what I was doing and shouted, "Blanc, gravity, head, still, squish."

I saw her run a way before turning around and sprinting towards the pinned snake's head. I barely interpreted what she was doing before stepping back and flooded the Taijitu's head with gravity dust pinning it to the ground and keeping it in the same position. Kapila made impact with the creature's head pushing it against the black wall of dust crushing it.

"One down," she yelled before we ran towards Lali who had the other head in between her blades like a scissor. She pulled her blades apart decapitating the second head. We watched as the Grimm evaporated into a black mist.

"Easy," Lali remarked as she reconnected her blades and holstered them on her back.

"What is going on here?" Goodwitch strolled out of the forest from the direction we originally arrived, "You're late."

"Grimm," I replied, "Queen Taijitu. Its dead now."

"Alright," she replied seemingly satisfied with my explanation, "The others are already waiting to return to the Academy."

She started walking back the way she came as a Creep jumped at her. The normally subterranean Grimm was killed with a single swipe of her caltrop and another was gunned down by Ellie behind us before we followed.


	10. Black and White

The exchange students were arriving tomorrow and Lali wanted to meet the competition early so we decided to spend the weekend in an apartment in the city that I spent time in when I needed to do things on the main land. I personally haven't been in the city since being admitted to Beacon but I knew the girls liked to spend their weekends there while I tended to spend time on campus studying or helping the teachers or other huntsmen with the odd job whether it be clearing Grimm or collecting things from the surrounding ruins for Oobleck.

It was pretty dark at the moment and I wasn't tired yet. The same couldn't be said for Ellie who had fallen asleep on a leather couch a similar colour to her blonde hair. Lali was sitting on a smaller armchair perpendicular to the couch sharpening her scissor's blades. I decided to go for a walk so I told the red head where I was going and stared heading down the apartment block's stairs as the elevator had been out of order for at least as long as I had owned the place. I always wondered where Uncle Finn got the huge sum of Lien he left me. We certainly weren't the richest people on Patch but we weren't the poorest either.

I wondered through the streets of Vale the shattered moon watching over me like a silent guardian angel. After what felt like an hour of walking I heard quick footsteps behind me. They were loud and heavy like a giant behemoth. I turned around and saw a brute of a figure in jet black armour with golden trimmings and studs looking like something worn by ancient soldiers.

The figure stopped just a mere couple of meters behind me and through the darkness I could see the face which belonged to Schwartz.

"What do you want?" I asked as I could feel my muscles tense up at the sight of the bully.

"Nothing," he replied, I noticed a slight grin, "just wanted to talk."

"Really?" I wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, I wanna know how you managed without anyone to look after you."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"I know that you've been going at it alone since you were twelve. How you continued at Signal and how you ended up at Beacon."

This was beginning to unnerve me a little now. I wondered how he knew. Oobleck, no he wouldn't tell anyone same with the other professors. Can't have been my team mates either because we all just about hated the guy.

"Give me the Lien," he demanded as he pulled out my journal from a pocket underneath his breastplate, "or say goodbye to all those happy memories."

"Where did you get that?"

"A little friend of mine," he remarked his grin growing larger, "now hand me the money."

"I don't carry it on me."

"Then where is it?"

"It's somewhere," I was barely holding it together.

"C'mon, don't mess with me Blanc. We both know I'm stronger than you and your team of misfits. Seriously who works with a dog, a hairdresser and a robot to kill monsters."

That was it. I lunged at him throwing punches with one arm while reaching for the book with the other. He sidestepped me and I plummeted face first into the concrete sidewalk.

"I tried to talk Blanc," he said chuckling, "but I see you're the one who doesn't listen to reason."

I quickly stood back up and turned around to see him drop the book and draw his weapon. A large golden flail roughly the size of my head. The flail glowed gold as he slammed it into the book setting it alight.

I pounced at him knocking him to the ground as I hit him harder than I had ever hit anything before, Grimm or otherwise. He managed to bring his flail around and swipe it at me sending me again into the ground.

Then something weird happened. I felt a odd sensation as a glowing red shockwave of fire came from me sending the bully into a wall.

An explosion of fire. Was that it? My semblance.

I was so confused to what had just happened that I didn't notice that Schwartz had ran off and another person was standing in front of me.

"Blanc," Ellie said seemingly upset, "I'm so sorry."


	11. The Runt

Ellie stood in front of me looking at the pile of ash that used to be my journal.

"I'm so sorry Blanc, I didn't know he would do this, I didn't want to do it."

I just stood there still taking in what just happened. All my work to find Uncle Finn gone, discovering my semblance, beating Schwartz.

"Blanc? You ok?"

"I'm fine," I replied not taking my eyes of the ashes. "It's just a bit much."

"I'm so sorry."

"Could you stop saying that," I snapped at her, "I know your sorry."

Not that it made a difference.

"He said that he'd just leave us alone if I done what he said."

"Don't you remember what I told you day one?"

"Don't let people do that kind of stuff to you."

"Yeah, this is what happens."

"Old habits die hard I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm used to putting up with that," she sat down on the curb, "ever since I was a little pup I've been bullied, left out, left behind or not cared about. I was born in to a family of seven all Faunus all dogs. I was just like them except for one thing."

She placed her tail in her lap and started stroking it. "This stupid tail. The only one in my family while everyone else had their ears I had a tail. I was the smallest too the runt. The tiny little thing nobody cared about and if you didn't get used to it you'd go nuts. I had to teach myself to read, write and fight although that wasn't so bad once I got into Sanctum a certain Nikos helped but we've drifted apart as she got really good."

"You say you've lost your family," she looked at me as I sat down next to her, "I say I don't have a family."

"I'm sure they cared and still do about you."

"They don't and never did. I recall hearing a lot of angry growls when I sat at a table with them. I had to steal form them more often than not. That's how Schwartz got his hands on that book. I stole it for him. What I mean by 'old habits die hard' is that I'm so used to getting treated like Grimm I think its perfectly fine and I do what I'm told. I never thought it would go like this. I thought he would just leave us alone like he promised. I'm really sorry."

By that time she was starting to cry.

"It's fine," I said as I stood back up and held my arm out, "We should head back."

As we walked back the to the apartment I thought about what used to be in the book. All the notes, all the pictures, all the sketches, all the theories, all gone and turned to ash. I realised how much of my time I spent gathering and comparing the contents of the book looking for anything that would lead me to Uncle Finn and the pointlessness of it. He has been gone for five years now finding him would've been like finding a needle in a haystack the size of the oceans combined. I decided to give up on the entire find the surrogate father thing even though it was the thing that kept me going so far I had something else to focus on, a new job, become a huntsman and do the best I can.


	12. Vytal

After the fight with Schwartz the previous night the three of us were waiting for Kapila before we headed for the docks.

"Where is she?" Ellie asked sitting on the side walk outside of a bookstore. _Tukson's Book Trade: Home to every book under the sun_ the sign above the entrance read.

"Yeah," Lali agreed with the Faunus, "Kap was supposed to be here half an hour ago."

As Lali finished talking an odd looking car drove down the road towards us. From what I could see it was very boxy and angular. Its engine resided it had a vertical radiator and windshield and a flat roof. It had large off road wheels which were coated in mud and the sides were featureless except for two doors and a mirror on each side. As it pulled up we discovered that it was similar to a ute with a slanted canopy over the back of it and the entire vehicle was a reddish-brown colour.

I could see someone moving behind the tinted windows. Ellie moved closer and opened the passenger side door.

"There you are," she exclaimed as if she had finally found something small and elusive.

"What are you waiting for?" Kapila asked from the driver's seat, "Pile in."

Ellie jumped in and scooted into the back and sat behind Kapila while Lali sat next to her and behind me.

"What took you so long?" Lali asked annoyed.

"Sorry guys," she replied as she pulled out onto the road again, "Haven't driven him in a while so I took him for a bit of a drive first."

"Him?" I asked confused.

"Machine, Blanc," Kap replied as she revved the vehicle, "You're sitting in him."

"Ow," I heard Lali wince behind me, "What are you doing."

I turned around and saw that Ellie had found a hatch in the center of the roof which she had stuck her head through.

"Oh," Kapila glanced at the Faunus, "I forgot about that. Could be useful."

"How is that useful for what we're doing?" I asked.

"You never know Blanc," Kapila replied, "It's always been there. Machine is just an old modified Mistral military truck."

"Then how did you get it?" Lali asked looking around Ellie's legs.

"That's a long story."

"We've got time," Lali said optimistically.

"Well," Kapila stuttered, "I uh, found it. Yeah, I found it in a scrapyard. Still working."

"You're expecting me to believe that?"

"Yes, because its true."

"Fine, you win."

The streets of Vale were even more colourful then they usually were due to the preparation for the Vytal festival and tournament in a couple of months and today was the day that a handful of exchange students from the other Academies were arriving and Lali wanted to watch them or in her words "Welcome them to Vale."

Kapila parked her Machine and just as I was about to get out Ellie jumped off the roof and onto the bonnet before jumping to the ground. We then followed her to a railing that overlooked Vale's docks.

"Do you guy's smell that?" Ellie asked an odd look strewn across her face.

"Smell what?" I replied slightly confused.

"Bananas."

"Bananas?" Kapila, Lali and myself said in unison equally confused.

Ellie pointed out to a ship a decent distance down the coastline where I could barely make out something or someone hanging from a light post.

"Is that a monkey?" I asked trying to figure out what the silhouette in the distance was.

"Its a Faunus," Kapila had walked back to the car and was now holding a pair of binoculars, "a monkey Faunus to be exact."

Before long she passed them to me and she was not wrong. Hanging from a lamp post was indeed a Faunus with a monkey's tail eating a banana with two authority looking figures standing below him

"Well certainly doesn't look like he's participating in the tournament," Lali noted as she peered through the old magnification device.

"Anything interesting happen last night?" Lali asked stepping between Ellie and I.

"Nope," Ellie replied before I could, "nothing at all."

"Ok," Lali looked defeated, "Just found it odd that Ellie left the apartment not too long after you did."

"What do you think we making out or something," the Faunus grinned and looked disgusted at the same time, "Him? No."

"No, just curious."

"Sure."

It wasn't long before a second ship arrived bearing the emblem of Shade Academy, one of the four huntsmen academies on Remnant, docked along a jetty below us. From what we were told they had the day to do what they wanted in the kingdom before being sent to Beacon for the exchange.

Four of them caught my attention. One was wearing a simple grey shirt under a black jacket with teal accents which had a surprisingly tall collar hiding most of his neck. He also wore a pair of long black pants and a black belt which three pouches attached. His footwear compromised of a set of black combat boots with white metal plating on the tips. His outfit suited his hairstyle of a black and teal mess. There was a pad on his back which had a large weapon attached to hit it looked like a hip fired grenade launcher with a huge blade sweeping back underneath it.

Next to him walked a girl, slightly taller than the boy, her sky blue hair flowing in the ocean breeze wearing a long purple sleeveless dress which had its sides split exposing most of her legs with dark gold accents. She wore dark, gold fingerless gloves that reached past her elbow. She wore tights which were almost identical to the elbow length gloves underneath a pair of boots similar to the first boy except purple in colour and a golden zip on the outer sides. Across her lower back was a small cylinder which looked like it was telescopic.

The third person, wore a dress very similar to the purple one her friend wore except it was shorter, only reaching her thighs, had no split and was a very desert yellow colour. I think a more appropriate name would be a combat skirt. Like the first girl she wore gloves which reached her elbows except were of a similar colour of her dress and were spotted. She walked around on a pair of low heels. Other than the colour the largest difference between the two was the size of the yellow girl. On her back there was a weapon with a distinct H shape except the top half was double the length of the other and half of that was slightly shorter. Like someone had cut the end of one of the ends of the letter of and stuck it on the other.

The easiest way do describe the last huntsman in training was brown leather. His brown leather jacket, his leather boots, his leather hat. The only thing about him that wasn't brown was an undershirt barely visible under his jacket and golden trimmings on the brown apparel fitting quite nicely to his muscular body. He carried a weapon, a mace spiked with dust crystals, over his shoulder.

They acended a stair case not too far away from us and they walked up to us.

"So," The teal boy started, "You guys from around here?"

"Yeah," I replied, "We're from here."

"Ah, good. Know of anything worth doing?"

"Preferably that'll only take a couple of hours," It was the purple girl who spoke.

"Uh, not that I know of," I turned to my team, "Any suggestions?"

I herd three people say the word "no" simultaneously.

"Nothing much different from the other Kingdoms here," Kap commented.

"Well, there goes that Idea," The girl wearing yellow spoke up seemingly annoyed.

"You guys wonder if we stick with you for the time being then, uh, what's your name?"

"Blanc," I replied before introducing the rest my team, "I don't see why not."

"Thanks," He then introduced his team, "I'm Teal, the purple one is Neela, Gina is the yellow and Rezar is the one in the spoofy hat. Together we're TNGR, tangerine."

"BLKE, like the name."

"Well team BLKE, Its good to meet you."

* * *

 **Before you go I'd like to make a quick shout out to MechaRavenWolf (** **u/7816305/MechaRavenWolf)** **for allowing me to use his characters (TNGR) in my story. He is currently working on his fic _The Dragon of Fire_ which is quite unlike anything I've seen before and I recommend you go check it out.**


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